Channel closing machine



Oct. 17, 1939. F. E..BERT RAND CHANNEL CLOSING MAGHINE Filed May 11, 193B 4 Patented Oct. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES CHANNEL orlosrNe MACHINE Frederic E. Bertrand, Lynn, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 11, 1938, Serial No. 207,220

4 Claims. (01. 12-29) This invention relates to shoemaking and, more particularly, to that aspect which has to do with channel closing;

It is usual in the manufacture of sewed shoes 5 to form a channel in the outsole for receiving the stitching which unites the outsole to the upper. After the performance of the stitching operation the under surface of the channel lip and the v feather of the sole are both coated with cement and the lip is laid against the feather with suffrcient pressure to cause it to adhere'thereto. The stitching is thus concealed and protected. It is important in laying the channel lip to insure that the lip be wiped smoothly upon the feather and that it not be allowed to adhere to the feather in a crumpled condition.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved machine for laying channel lips. In accordance with a feature of the invention there is provided a rotary driven tool having spiral threads which exert a wiping action upon the lip, in combination with means for preventing premature laying of the lip in advance of the tool. The illustrated machine is also provided with an edge gage.

These and other features of the invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing and will be pointed out more clearly in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the upper portion of the improved machine;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation, partly in section, of

the portion shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective illustrating the operation of the machine upon a shoe.

The supporting structure of the improved machine comprises a frame ill adapted to be secured upon a work bench and having formed in its upper portion a bearing l2 for a shaft M. A pulley 16 fixed to the shaft l4 upon one side of the bearing i2 is driven by a belt l8 from any suitable source of power. The shaft i4 extends outwardly through the opposite side of the bearing 12. In this outwardly extending portion of the shaft I4 is formed a diametrical slot 26 and also an axial bore 22 which receives the shank 24 of a lip-laying tool 26. The shank 24 is adjustably secured in the bore 22 by a clamping screw 23 ex-v tending through a diametrical slot in the shank 24 and across the slot 29. The screw 28 when tightened binds together the two sections of the shank 24 which are separated by the slot 26, causing them to exert clamping pressure upon the shank 24. The shank 24 extends beyond the end of the shaft M. The tool 26 itself is formed upon the end portion of the shank 24 and consists of a pair of spiral threads 30 and 32 which, in the illustrated machine, are substantially helical over 5' a greater portion of their length, although it might be convenient in some cases to arrange them in the form of converging spirals. In Fig.

3 is shown a shoe S on the sole of which is formed a channel lip L and a feather F. It will be ob- 10 served that the spaces between the threads 30 and 32 are wider'than the lip L.

Extending from the bearing l2 above the shaft 14 is a semi-cylindrical bracket 34 on the outer end portion of which is secured a support 36. 15 The support 36 is provided with a slot 38 through which extends a screw 40 whereby the support 36 is secured for horizontal adjustment in a direction crosswise of the shaft l4. Slidably secured to the support 36 by a screw 42 with provision for 20 heightwise adjustment is a member 44 which extends downwardly into the space between the feather F and the upturned lip L and terminates in a plow-like portion 46 which extends between the lip L and the feather for the purpose of pre- 25 venting the lip from being prematurely laid.

For enabling the operator to hold the shoe in proper relation to the tool 26 there is provided an edge gage 48 which extends from the lower end of a block 5!] which is secured for heightwise move- 30 ment in a vertical guideway 52 in the outer end portion of the bracket 34. Clamped against the outer face of the block 50 is a block 54 which carries a semi-cylindrical guard 56 which surrounds the upper half of the tool 36. The blocks 35 54 and 50 are both clamped to the bracket 34 by a single screw 58. A vertical slot for the screw 58 is provided in the block 52 to allow for heightwise adjustment of the edge gage 48.

In operating the machine, the shoe S is held in 40 the manner indicated in Fig. 3 with the edge of the sole against the edge gage 48. The feather F and the under surface of the lip L have already been coated with cement to cause them to adhere permanently when the lip is laid. Begin- 5 ning at one end of the channel the operator may conveniently feed the shoe away from him, turning it wherever necessary in accordance with the curvature of the outline of the sole. The threads 30 and 32 engage the surface of the 50 sole and the lip L tangentially. The pitch of the threads 30 and 32 is sufficient to space. the threads a greater distance apart than the width of the lip L, thereby insuring that the tool 26 can have only one point of contact with the 55 lip L at any given instant. The rotation of the tool will cause this point of contact to travel to the edge of the sole, wiping down the lip L as it progresses. Almost immediately after the tangential contact of one of the threads ceases at the edge of the sole the point of contact of the other thread, which has already come into engagement with the surface of the sole, will cross the root of the channel and will travel across the lip and will likewise Wipe down the lip. Meanwhile, it should be understood that the sole is being fed in the direction of its edge and each succeeding engagement of the tool 26 with the lip L will take place at a fresh and still unlaid portion of the lip until the other end of the channel has been reached.

The spacing of the threads renders it impossible for adjacent threads simultaneously to engage the lip and so avoids any danger, which might arise as a result of a too rapid feeding of the work, of one thread engaging and prematurely sticking down in a crumpled condition an outer portion of the lip before that portion is reached by the progressive wiping action of the other thread. The plow-like member 46 serves to prevent the portion of the lip in advance of the tool from prematurely engaging the feather and from adhering thereto in a crumpled state. The plow-like member 46 also causes the threads 30 and 32 to exert a stretching action upon the lip, causing the lip to be laid taut. The more closely the plow-like member 46 is adjusted horizontally toward the tool 26 the greater will be the tension of that portion of the lip L which is being laid.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A lip-laying machine comprising a rotary driven spiral-threaded tool for wiping down a channel lip formed on a sole, the threads of which tool are spaced apart a distance at least equal to the Width of the channel lip, and means for preventing the premature laying of portions of the lip in advance of said tool.

2. A lip-laying machine comprising a rotary driven spiral tool for wiping down a channel lip formed on a sole, and means for preventing the premature laying of portions of the lip in advance of said tool.

3. A lip-laying machine comprising a rotary driven spiral tool for wiping down a channel lip formed on a sole, and a plow-like member extending between the lip and the feather of the sole in advance of said tool to prevent the premature laying of portions of said lip.

4. A lip-laying machine comprising a rotary driven spiral double-threaded tool for Wiping down a channel lip formed on a sole, a gage engageable with the edge of the sole to gage the sole relatively to said tool, and means for preventing the premature laying of portions of the lip in advance of the tool.

FREDERIC E. BERTRAND. 

